About the Show

Premiere date: December 2014

How do the past’s greatest buildings measure up in the 21st century? With cutting-edge technology that can “read” buildings, ruins and landscapes from ancient worlds, this series reveals physical and forensic history, allowing viewers to reach out and touch the past, gain a brand new perspective on these iconic engineering creations, and, for the first time, discover the hidden keys to their construction.

Leading the team on these ground-breaking missions is one of the world’s finest structural engineers and a master of the modern building world, Steve Burrows, who has created iconic structures like the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing.

Read more about the episodes below.

A Closer Look at "Time Scanners"

About the Episodes

Machu Picchu (Premiered December 9, 2015)
Structural engineer Steve Burrows leads his team of laser-scanning experts into the Peruvian jungle to scan the sacred Incan city of Machu Picchu. Using cutting-edge, 3D laser-scanning technology he wants to answer three main questions: How did the Inca build a city atop a mountain ridge? How were the terraces constructed? How did they supply water to the city? To find the answers, they must battle altitude sickness and rampaging insects as they hack their way through the jungle to set up their high-tech scanning equipment.

Colosseum (Premiered December 16, 2015)
The team of experts travel to Rome on a quest to uncover some of the engineering world’s oldest mysteries of the Colosseum. Using cutting-edge 3D laser-scanning technology, the team want to answer three questions: How did the Romans produce some of the most impressive gladiatorial games ever seen in Europe? How did the Colosseum’s mysterious roof really work? How does the mighty Colosseum perform in state of the art computer testing against the sports stadia of the 21st century? Armed with incredible scanning technology, the data will provide the clues to help Steve Burrows find the answers.

Jerusalem(Premiered December 23, 2015)
In this show the team sets out to explore the epic building legacy of Jerusalem. From the vast walls of the Temple Mount, to the incredible man-made mountain of Herodium, they plan to use cutting edge 21st century technology to analyze constructions made at the time of Christ. Given unique access to scan the iconic Wailing Wall, and travelling deep into the dangerous West Bank, the team treks across Jerusalem and beyond on the trail of King Herod’s remarkable building ambitions, discovering new revelations about just how good his ancient builders were and answering long held mysteries about Herod’s magnificent structures.

Egyptian Pyramids(Premiered July 1, 2014)
The team travel to Egypt to scan the pyramids — the tombs of the mighty Pharaohs. They want to find out how these structures evolved from simple mud-brick mounds to the most impressive buildings in the ancient world. They use cutting-edge laser technology to scan Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Meidum’s collapsed pyramid, the mysterious Bent Pyramid at Dashur and the world famous Great Pyramid at Giza.

St. Paul's Cathedral(Premiered July 8, 2014)
Structural engineer Steve Burrows takes his team of laser-scanning experts to St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of London. They venture inside the majestic dome to explore its ground-breaking 3-part structure, they discover how the cathedral’s architect Sir Christopher Wren overcame unstable foundations and immense structural forces to support his dome and they investigate how the cathedral survived a direct hit by a German bomb during the London Blitz. The laser scans produce genuine revelations and give the team new insight into this iconic architectural masterpiece.

Petra(Premiered July 15, 2014)
Steve Burrows and his team travel to Jordan in the Middle East, to scan the ancient desert city of Petra. Using cutting-edge 3D laser-scanning technology he wants to discover its construction secrets and shed new light on this architectural wonderland that was lost to the West for more than 1,000 years.

"Time Scanners"was produced by produced by Atlantic Productions.
Lara Acaster is the series producer. Anthony Geffen is executive producer.